Group-Friendly Attractions
Winterset Historic Courthouse Square
Shop the award-winning Winterset Historic Courthouse Square. Let your group eat on their own (we have plenty of restaurants in walking distance) and give them time to shop the over 20 retail/gift shops around the award-winning retail district, including Piece Works Quilt Shop (one of Quilt Sampler’s Top Shops.) The Winterset Retail District won the 2019 Iowa Tourism Award for Outstanding Retail Experience!
Iowa Quilt Museum
Tour the Iowa Quilt Museum, located in the former J.C. Penney building, on the Winterset Historic Courthouse Square. The museum welcomes quilters, quilt lovers, history buffs, and all appreciators of American art and culture. Their mission is to promote appreciation of the American quilt and the art of quilting through displays of quilts and information about quilt history. The museum offers changing exhibits—three to four per year—of American quilts both vintage and new.
- Admission is $8 per person for groups of 20 or more
- Estimated time to tour: 30-45 mins
John Wayne Birthplace & Museum
Tour the award-winning John Wayne Birthplace & Museum. Since the John Wayne Birthplace Society was established in 1982, more than a million visitors have journeyed to historic Madison County to tour his birthplace home. The John Wayne Birthplace & Museum contains an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the actor’s life and career. Naturally, the facility also includes a movie theater. Relax in comfortable seats (originally from Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood) and watch a short documentary on Duke’s phenomenal film career. Be sure to explore the gift shop’s wide assortment of John Wayne merchandise perfect for souvenirs or great new items to add to your collection. You’ll be fascinated as you linger and learn about John Wayne the actor, the private citizen and an American legend. The museum also celebrates the Duke every year with a public celebration around his birthday (May 26).
- Your $15 admission fee (for groups of 20 or more) gets you into the museum and his birthplace home (which is located on the same block)
- Estimated time to tour: 1 hour 15 minutes
Madison County Historical Complex
The Madison County Historical Complex is located on 23 picturesque acres in Winterset. The museum houses over 10,000 artifacts of local history, while around the complex 14 buildings (mostly authentic) have been gathered and are open for visitors. These include the Bevington-Kaser House, the Winterset Train Depot, a Zion church, a one-room schoolhouse, a barn full of antique farming equipment, and much, much more.
- Admission is $4 per person for groups of 20 or more
- Estimated time to tour: 1.5-2 hours
Or book a special program for your group that will introduce your guests to Victorian customs over tea, coffee and pastries, and then enjoy a guided tour of the Bevington mansion.
- $12 per person for groups of 20 or more
- Estimated time: 60 mins
The Iowa Theater
The Iowa Theater, Winterset's fully-renovated 1914 single-screen cinema, offers a special short program for groups. The program includes a brief discussion on the theater’s history and renovation, plus a highlight reel of clips from movies made in and about Iowa. Your guests can enjoy freshly popped popcorn and soda during the presentation.
- $10 per person ($6 per person without refreshments)
- Estimated time: 45 minutes
